Shade sewing device



April 11, 1933. p p MATT 1,903,468

SHADE SEWING DEVICE Filed July 9, 1931 lrrvevfor PETE R. P. MATT- BY: TM

Patented Apr. 11, 1933 UNITED STATES PETER 1P. MATT, 01

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI smum SEWING. DEVICE Application filed m 9,

- This invention relates to improvements in a shade sewing device, and has among its objects the. production of such a device which shall be simple, sturdy, neat, convenient, eco- 5 nomical, reliable, and eflicient and satisfactory for use wherever found applicable. In the sewing of shade cloth, and especially in the sewing of the hems thereof, it has been extremely awkward and cumbersome to hold and guide the same through the sewing machine so as to form a neat and true straight-line hem thereon, as this sort of material is fairly stiff and will therefore crack if not held perfectly correct. The contacting surfaces of the cloth tend to slide or slip over one another and make an uneven hem. Another cause of trouble in handling is that the material is quite often very wide.

7 The invention has as its principal objects,

the production of a device which may be attached to a standard sewing machine, and which willengage over the hem for a substantial portion of its length, to hold it in its folded-down position ready to pass under the stitching needle, and further to guide the shade cloth in its travel through themachine,

so that practically the only manual holding necessary is at the starting of the cloth-at the first few stitches. V p

Another object of my invention is to so place the guiding edge of the device, so that it is at an angle to the path of reciprocatory movement of the cloth-feeding means of machine itself, and whereby said means will urge the hem into contact with said guiding edge as well as urging or feeding the cloth forwardly through the machine. Because of this, the tension of the machine at the feeding means may be increased over what is now i generally employed, and no manual feeding novel construction, arrangement, and com-- blnatlon of parts herein shown and de 1931. Serial No. 549, e54.

scribed, and the uses mentioned, and more particularly pointed out in the claim. s

In the drawing, wherein likereference characters indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the views, I 7

Figure l is a top plan view showin my degice as attached to the sewingi'mac ine; an a i r Figure 2is a perspective view of the same. Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, A represents a sewing machine of any suitable size, sha e or construction, and being provided withtlie A usual parts, some ofwhich are not shown," and those shownincluding the frame-work or table 1, the bed plate 2 for supporting the head of the machine, and the feeding means 3 which feed the cloth through the machine. N The feeding means or feed pointstasthey" are sometimes called, reciprocate" in a straight line extending normalto and intersecting the line of vertical reciprocation of the needle, all in the common and well-known V manner.

Window shades are generally made of a relatively stifi' cloth having quite a smooth surface, generally obtained by filling the pores of the cloth with some sort of chalk or p the like during the process of manufacture of the same, and therefore such material has a very great tendency to crack or'similarly become damaged ,if not carefully handled. In running this materia-lthrough' a' sewing; machine the opposedsurfaces of thefcloth,

- contacting with one another, tend to slip or with their rollers at one end, and then the required length of cloth is cut off nd scored at the free end to indicate the hem fold.[ The scored end is then; folded and guided by hand through the sewing machine, the tension of the cloth-feeding means bein very light so as not to cause the sidewiseff slipping of the material hereinbefore mentioned. Obviously much care must be taken when sewing hems in this way, to feed the cloth uniformly and evenly through the machine and at the same time keep the constant width of hem.

In my improved device, hand feeding is not necessary, except perhaps for starting the hem beneath the needle, and the clothfeeding device of the machine may be tightened up to perform its intended function, and mechanically feed the hem through the machine, the improved device having a guiding edge placed at an angle to the line of movement of the cloth-feeding means so that the latter not only acts to feed the cloth forwardly through the machine, but at the same 7 time, urges the cloth against the guiding edge and thereby make a uniform hem.

The device consists of an elongated plate :member B, adapted to be secured detachably and projecting laterally of the guiding edge 7 is the portion 9 of less length than the portion 7 and having its bottom surface spaced above the bottom surface of the portion 7 so as to leave a space or clearance between the under side of this portion 9 and the bed plate of the sewing machine and permit of the passage of the folded hem therethrough. The

portion 9 that overlies the hem is of substantially the same width as said hem so as to thereby cover the. entire width of the latter, and hold ,it down onto the bed of the machine, and the rear end of said portion (rela- Y tive' to the feeding of the shade through the machine) terminates at substantially the needle ofthe machine.

as is possible.

It is to be particularly noted that the ati 7 tachment is placed in such position that the V guiding edge 7 extends at anangle to the path of reciprocatory movement of the feeding points '3, because in this way, the feeding movement of the latter will not only move the goods forward, but at the same time press In other words, as. much'bearing area is brought onto the hem edge projecting well beyond the needle of the machine.

The tension of the feeding points is made heavier than usual so that they will actually feed the cloth forwardly through the machine, as well as hold the hem against the guiding edge of the attachment. Therefore, it is necessary to merely start the hem through the needle, and afterwards, the movement of the shade through the machine need not be hand guided and. fed.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, arrangement, construction and combination of parts herein shown or described, except as limited by the state of the art to which this invention appertains, or the claim hereto appended. l/Vhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a sewing machine for stitching relatively stiff shade cloth and having a bed plate with cloth-feeding points and a-needle cooperatively positioned thereon; means for guiding said shade cloth past said needle and holding it folded'while so guided and comprising a plate having a cloth guiding edgeadapted to receive and engage the folded edge of the shade during its travel through the machine and extending from a point in 'advance of said needle to a point beyond said needle, said guiding edge being at an angle to the path of movement of the cloth-feeding points so that the latter presses the folded edge of the shade against said guiding edge, and an overhanging portion extending onto said folded shade from a point well in ad- Vance'of said needle to adjacent the needle and spaced sufficiently above the bed plate to permit the folded cloth to'pass thereunder and be held folded over a substantial area.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature. 7

PETER P. MATT.

or urge the latter towards the guiding edge I and thus maintain the edge of the hemin contact withv said guiding edge. o

It is to be further noted that the guiding edge 7 projects beyond the front 'andrear ends of the portion '9- that holds the. goods folded, so as to give a long bearing as its guiding edge and thusprevent the goods from-slidingsidewise on itself and formingv an uneven hem, the rear end of this guiding, 

